Education

Review of the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme at BU

As a key Access Excellence and Innovation Committee (AEIC) action, BU has committed to reviewing BU’s Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme. The PAL scheme fosters cross-year support between students on the same course. PAL encourages students to support each other and to learn collaboratively under the guidance of trained students, called PAL Leaders, from the year… Read more » about Review of the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme at BU

New Publication: Doctoral Supervision Review Paper

A new review of Doctoral Supervision has been published in Encyclopedia 2023 by lead author Dr Martyn Polkinghorne (Associate Professor, BUBS/FLIE), in collaboration with co-authors Dr Julia Taylor, Dr Fiona Knight and Natalie Stewart from the Doctoral College. Encyclopedia is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal and the paper entitled Doctoral Supervision: A Best Practice Review [1]… Read more » about New Publication: Doctoral Supervision Review Paper

Virtual Reality Technologies

Digital graphic of an avatar wearing a virtual reality headset

As of 2022 there are an estimated 171 million VR users worldwide and it is estimated that by the end of the decade the VR industry will result in over 23 million jobs worldwide. Link to statistics (enterpriseappstodday website) The following graphic demonstrates expected growth of virtual reality by industry with education, health care and workplace… Read more » about Virtual Reality Technologies

Changes to how you log in to Mentimeter

Mentimeter logo

Please note that on Friday 9th September we are making a change which may affect how you log into Mentimeter. This change will mean that all Mentimeter accounts registered to BU email addresses will be authenticated via SSO, so that you’ll sign in with your BU IT account. Most staff will already be signing in… Read more » about Changes to how you log in to Mentimeter

Leaving FLIE and BU

I (Anne Quinney, Principal Lecturer in FLIE and the Assessment & Feedback academic lead) will be leaving BU at the end of this academic year and with annual leave due to me will be finishing on 20th July. I’ve worked in FLIE, and its predecessor CEL (Centre for Excellence in Learning), for 9 years, having… Read more » about Leaving FLIE and BU

Getting Creative with Release Conditions in Brightspace

Brightspace logo

In Brightspace,  Release Conditions can be used to trigger an event when a pre-set condition, or conditions, have been met. For example, an announcement could be released conditionally to students achieving a certain score in a formative quiz, offering generic feedback/feedforward suggestions to students within specified grade ranges. Release conditions are very flexible and can… Read more » about Getting Creative with Release Conditions in Brightspace

MUSE is on the way

Brightspace logo

What is MUSE? The Mid-Unit Student Evaluation (MUSE) is a survey designed to encourage students to reflect on their progress to date and feed back on their learning experience, including views on any summative or formative feedback received during their current unit. This information enables tutors to incorporate any necessary enhancements moving forward, therefore adding… Read more » about MUSE is on the way

FHSS/HEE Inter-faculty Simulation Research Day Supported by FLIE

FLIE Logo

The Faculty of Health Sciences and Health Education England ran an inter-faculty Simulation Research Day in January, an exciting event that was rolled out with the support of FLIE staff and had 4 clear goals: To build awareness and showcase Faculty HEE simulation projects To develop external networks with key partners  To run a bespoke… Read more » about FHSS/HEE Inter-faculty Simulation Research Day Supported by FLIE

Mindscape Commons virtual reality (VR) resource for teaching mental health

Mindscape Commons virtual reality and interactive video content for supporting mental health teaching is now available to HE institutions via a Jisc agreement. The resources allows future counsellors, social workers, and psychologists to explore a variety of mental health experiences and to help students build empathy and develop critical clinical skills in a safe and… Read more » about Mindscape Commons virtual reality (VR) resource for teaching mental health

Assessment for Learning: Education Excellence workshop

Assessment and Feedback toolkit

FLIE’s Principal Lecturer Anne Quinney delivered an Education Excellence workshop on Assessment for Learning. The workshop focussed on the 6 dimensions of Sambell’s model (below) and provided opportunities to discover how to use these in unit design and in designing assessment. Sambell’s model underpins the BU Assessment Design policy (6c) and the BU Generic Assessment… Read more » about Assessment for Learning: Education Excellence workshop